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Originally Posted by Sona
Balance is a funny thing: it is not a constant. There is a need for tweaking on a regular basis--not just as time moves forward, but as life issues impact our body's ability to cope. A death in the family, a divorce, loss of job...all kinds of stressors will influence the need for more or less of a particular dosage of bioID hormonal supplementation to maintain the balance we require to keep us at our healthiest. It's not easy. And ultimately, it requires the assistance and cooperation of an experienced, insightful hormone specialist to maintain that balance.
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Eventually, I know I will have to go in and have my levels checked. I've been very close to making an appointment, LOL....my first symptom, the horrible cramping, was flat out unliveable, but it stopped when I started exercising again. Each cycle, new symptoms just kept appearing and I began to feel I was getting out of control.
The lowest dose of the cream really helped. Put TOM instantly back on track, and gradually relieved the other symptoms over the two week period. At the end of my second cycle of the cream now, this month is even better than last month.
My plan is to try and control my symptoms using the cream for as long as I can....if/when I esacalate to using the highest dosage and it no longer works, I'll go in.
Family history tells me I am at the beginning of a 10 year trek -- I know it is going to get worse and I am unlikely to be able to manage this on my own forever.
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Except in cases of surgical intervention (hysterectomy, etc.), where production is stopped almost completely and almost overnight, I don't believe there is a "drastic" or "sudden" decline of hormones. There's a great deal of fluctuation throughout perimenopause, with the trend being declining production (the wild swings in this period, though, can drive you crazy); and once perimenopause slides into menopause, the symptoms of much lower levels of estrogen/progesterone/testosterone begin--hot flashes, night sweats, vaginal dryness, loss of libido, etc. The decline continues and continues, but I don't believe it's ever drastic or sudden. It's just inexorable.
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I've been experiencing the symptoms bolded already....plus quite a few more. Some drive me a little more crazy than others, some minor, some severe.
I suspect I may have started some progesterone decline in the last couple of years, as my TOM hasn't been as *healthy as what I am used to. I passed it off to obesity and generally poor health. Where it is normal for those starting a LC diet to be hormonally out of whack for a few months, for me, I saw improvement the first month......yet, my weight loss was rapid and I lost alot. Ironically, distinct peri-M symptoms begin to hit me the first month after my weight loss stopped.....my body no longer releasing excess estrogen through my fat storage.
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Your periods should begin to fluctuate as well--sometimes heavy, sometimes spotting, sometimes missing...until they gradually subside altogether. However, if you orchestrate the proper balance through bioID hormone replacement, and cycle with progesterone approx. two weeks each month, you will/should simulate a "period" with bleeding at the end of the cycle.
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This is where I am confused....I have yet to "skip", but TOM has been irregular enough to scare me (every three weeks, one bout of slight spotting in between) -- fine since the cream so far.
However, the natural process of menopause is for TOMs to be irregular and eventually stop, with hormone replacement smoothing over this process....or not?
Even with the right treatment, at some point I should start skipping and eventually stop....right?
Hee, or is this something I really don't have to worry about now, and by the time I face this, I'll probably will need to be under the care of a physician..?
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Hope this helps a little!
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Actually, you helped a lot. Thank you!